Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Mini is the UK’s Slowest Depreciating Car

That vital tool of the used-car trade, Glass’s Guide, has today revealed that the Mini 1.4TD is the slowest depreciating car in the UK. For the second year running, the Mini tops the table, although even it has slipped a bit – retaining 63.2% of its value over three years, a fall of 7.8% since last year. Mini Diesel - Lowest depreciating car in the UK Glass’s cite the reasons for the Mini’s success as its strong image, a perception of quality and its reasonable running costs.

Battery breakthrough set to accelerate electric-car development

A team of scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are claiming a significant breakthrough in recharging times for lithium-ion batteries. According to findings published in the scientific journal Nature, MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have unlocked the potential of lithium-ion batteries by patenting a unique process which is claimed to allow a typical laptop power pack to be fully recharged in less than a minute--an improvement in recharging performance of roughly 90 percent over existing lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries generate electric current via the flow of lithium ions across an electrolyte, from an electrode to a cathode.

Kia and BMW claim 2012 Red Dot Design Awards

Kia and BMW have been recognized by the 2012 Red Dot Design Awards judging panel, picking up the ‘best-of-best' awards in the transportation product design category. The awards, handed out March 15, single out the best-designed products from over 4,000 entries across a variety of categories. Kia's A-segment Picanto and B-segment Rio were both winners in Red Dot's ‘Product Design' category, fighting off competition from over 4,500 products entered by 1,800 manufacturers from 58 countries.